World Malaria Day: Nothing But Nets does nothing but good for refugees

Life Savers: Mosquito nets help protect the most vulnerable, including pregnant women and infants.

DADAAB, Kenya, April 24 (UNHCR) – In the sprawling complex of UNHCR-run refugee camps in north-east Kenya's arid Dadaab area, a simple mosquito net can make the difference between misery and comfort, life and death.

Fartun, a 24-year-old Somali mother, was overjoyed when she received her insecticide-treated net from UNHCR partner, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), on arriving at Dadaab's Hagadera camp earlier this year after fleeing from her home in the Somali port city of Kismayo.

It was one of the first items that she received and proved vital just two days later, when she gave birth to a son in the makeshift tukul (shelter) that she now lives in at Hagadera – the largest of three camps at Dadaab that hold some 270,000 people and make this one of the most congested refugee sites in the world.

The net protected her, her new-born boy and her five-year-old daughter, from mosquitoes and the threat of malaria. "I use it every night when I and my children go to sleep. It makes me feel safe and it protects us from insects, snakes and scorpions," said Fartun, who lost contact with her husband and another daughter after fleeing from their home in the volatile south of Somalia.

Since the start of the year, IRC has been distributing nets every week to vulnerable refugees in Hagadera, especially pregnant women and children aged under five years. Due to their low levels of immunity, both are at greater risk of developing serious complications if they contract malaria.

It can cause spontaneous abortion in pregnant women, while infants run the risk of contracting the potentially fatal cerebral malaria. But a simple piece of chemically-treated mesh can avert this, and the importance of prevention will be one of the awareness factors broadcast globally on World Malaria Day tomorrow.

IRC uses its community outreach workers to ensure that the most vulnerable refugees receive the specially-treated nets, which have a five-year lifespan and were funded by the UN Foundation's Nothing But Nets (NBN) campaign.

Last year, NBN signed an agreement with UNHCR to eliminate malaria deaths in refugee camps, particularly in Africa. The campaign aims to provide 275,000 mosquito bed nets for distribution in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda by UNHCR implementing partners. One net, which can protect two people, costs US$10 to purchase, distribute and educate families on its use.

So far this year, IRC has distributed almost 5,000 in Hagadera, while another UNHCR partner, GTZ, has handed out a similar number in each of the other two Dadaab camps.

"Distribution of nets has helped increase the number of women presenting their children for immunization and vaccination," said Victoria Mshiki of IRC's Community Health Programme. "We couple the distribution with health education and underline the importance of using the nets."

Kamara, a 30-year-old Somali Bantu mother of five, also arrived in Hagadera when she was pregnant and is now about to give birth. She was given a net when she visited the IRC hospital for an ante-natal check-up.

Every night she and her children, including three-year-old twins Mahina and Nasro, sleep under two nets in the mud-brick shelter in which they live. "The nets have helped a lot. My children sleep easier at night under them and I feel safer for myself and them as a result," Kamara said.

With increased funding and more nets, the plan is to provide everyone in Dadaab with mosquito net protection. Of the millions of people of concern to UNHCR, two thirds live in malaria endemic areas. UNHCR estimates that about 930,000 refugees are infected with malaria every year in Africa.

UNHCR country pages

Related Internet Links

UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites

Dadaab: World's Biggest Refugee Camp Turns 20

Last year, 2011, was the 20th anniversary of the world's biggest refugee camp - Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya. The anniversary is a reminder of the suffering of the Somali people, who have been seeking safety and shelter for two decades. UNHCR, which manages the Dadaab complex, set up the first camps there between October 1991 and June 1992. This followed a civil war in Somalia that in 1991 had culminated in the fall of Mogadishu and overthrow of the Siad Barre regime.

The original intention was for the three Dadaab camps to host up to 90,000 people. However today they host more than 463,000 people, including some 10,000 third-generation refugees born in Dadaab to parents who were also born there.

Last year's famine in Somalia saw more than 150,000 new arrivals, a third of the camp's current population. Overcrowding and stretched resources as well as security concerns have all had an impact on the camp, but UNHCR continues to provide life-saving assistance.

Dadaab: World's Biggest Refugee Camp Turns 20

Health crisis in South Sudan

There are roughly 105,000 refugees in South Sudan's Maban County. Many are at serious health risk. UNHCR and its partners are working vigorously to prevent and contain the outbreak of malaria and several water-borne diseases.

Most of the refugees, especially children and the elderly, arrived at the camps in a weakened condition. The on-going rains tend to make things worse, as puddles become incubation areas for malaria-bearing mosquitoes. Moderately malnourished children and elderly can easily become severely malnourished if they catch so much as a cold.

The problems are hardest felt in Maban County's Yusuf Batil camp, where as many as 15 per cent of the children under 5 are severely malnourished.

UNHCR and its partners are doing everything possible to prevent and combat illness. In Yusuf Batil camp, 200 community health workers go from home to home looking educating refugees about basic hygene such as hand washing and identifying ill people as they go. Such nutritional foods as Plumpy'nut are being supplied to children who need them. A hospital dedicated to the treatment of cholera has been established. Mosquito nets have been distributed throughout the camps in order to prevent malaria.

Health crisis in South Sudan

Dire Times in Dadaab

Angelina Jolie's visit to Dadaab in north-east Kenya puts a spotlight on the overcrowded camp complex, home to tens of thousands of refugees.

When UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited Dadaab in north-east Kenya on September 12, 2009, she saw first-hand some of the tough conditions that tens of thousands of refugees must live in. The overcrowded three-camp complex is home to more than 285,000 mainly Somali refugees, making it the largest refugee settlement in the world. The camps were established in the early 1990s and were intended for a maximum of 90,000 people. Up to 7,000 people are now arriving every month to escape continuing conflict in Somalia. Jolie talked to residents about their daily life and their exile. These images show her meetings with the refugees of Dadaab and show some of the conditions they live in. Aside from overcrowding, they face water shortages, crammed classrooms, health problems, the coming rainy season and a range of other difficulties. UNHCR hopes new land will be allocated soon for the new arrivals.

Dire Times in Dadaab

Kenya: High Commissioner Visits Dadaab Refugee Camp

Last week the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres completed a visit to Kenya and Somalia where he met with the Presidents of the two countries, as well as Somali refugees and returnees.

Kenya: High Commissioner Visits Dadaab Refugee Camp

Last week the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres completed a visit to Kenya and Somalia where he met with the Presidents of the two countries, as well as Somali refugees and returnees.

Kenya: A Lifetime of Waiting

Sarah was born and raised in Hagadera refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. Now 21, she has become a wife and mother without ever setting foot outside the camp.